The Dead Man's Bluff
by Viviene Wilde
Summary: In less than twenty-four hours, Remy was going to pull off the greatest kidnapping in American history. All he had to do was survive. Sometimes, that's a lot harder than it sounds.
1. Part 1

The Dead Man's Bluff

Part One

Friday nights were like a little slice of heaven in the Big Easy. Bourbon Street was hot with the thick summer air and crowds of sweaty people; girls in short skirts and too much eye makeup hanging off of tall, muscled up guys. Bright neon lights flashed in every direction against the inky night sky and dirty jazz music floated out the doors of more than two dozen bars, clubs, and strip joints. Drunks and prostitutes littered the alleyways while the stray cats strolled the rooftops overhead, leering down with their big yellow eyes. Remy LeBeau certainly loved his Friday nights.

Dressed sharp in black pants and a stunning indigo dress shirt, the lean man who had come to be known as 'Le Diable Blanc', passed the long line of underage kids waiting to get into his favourite hangout, Johnny's Blues. Not that they had any chance. Johnny only catered to mature crowd. He tipped his hat to the bouncer, gaining immediate entry into the thriving bar. He was no more than three steps inside before a blonde goddess approached him.

"Evenin' Remy," she greeted him with a teasing kiss on each cheek, "Your usual table?"

"Of course, Chére," he smirked, placing a twenty dollar bill in the waistline of her deliciously low-rise denim shorts.

"Mister Rodrigo is already waitin' for ya," she smiled, "And Johnny sends his love. He ain't here tonight, out visitin' his sister in Texas." She took Remy's arm and led him to the back corner of the bar, a more private place reserved for regulars. Remy felt dozens of eyes on him as he passed. He could hear whispers of his name as people turned their heads to watch him. Remy had a reputation around these parts as a bit of a ladies man, a bit of a gambler, and a bit of a thief. Not that Remy minded this reputation at all. It wasn't as if these people were saying anything that wasn't true.

"LeBeau, you old charmer," a deep voice with a thick Spanish accent greeted him over a wailing saxophone, "How the hell are you?"

"Alejandro," Remy tipped his hat once more, "Life is great. What'll you be havin' to drink mon ami?"

"Whiskey sour over ice," Alejandro directed his request towards the tall blonde, now pulling out a chair for Remy. She nodded, her blue eyes sparkling.

"And for you, Remy?" she ran her fingers along his shoulders as he sat down.

"I'll have de same, Chére," he grinned at her, "And treat yourself as well, everyt'ing is on Remy tonight."

"Thank you kindly," she giggled and walked away, swinging her hips towards the bar as her brown cowboy boots tapped almost in time to the music. Smugly, Remy leaned back in his chair, his eyes still downcast under the brim of his hat. Alejandro gave a barking laugh.

"That is one fine Chiquita," he whistled.

"Gabrielle is a delight," Remy nodded, reaching into his coat pocket and pulling out a deck of cards, "'Ow about a quick round, Al?"

"You and those damn cards LeBeau," the Spanish man laughed, "Deal 'em up."

"Texas style, mon ami?"

"Works for me," Alejandro nodded, placing a hundred dollar bill on the table as Remy shuffled his cards expertly. The Cajun man chuckled slightly at the sight of the money on the table.

"Getting cautious, are we?" he teased. Alejandro shot his friend a dirty glare and proceeded to pull another two hundred from his pocket. Remy placed his deck of cards down on the table and matched the three hundred, placing the amount down in fifty dollar bills. As he picked the deck up and began to deal once more, Gabrielle returned with their drinks, a knowing smile on her face. There wasn't one night Remy came into the bar and didn't win back more than what he spent. The man was more than a card shark. He was a genius.

"Merci, petite," Remy grinned, "Care to stay an' watch our little game?"

"'Fraid I can't, boys," Gabrielle pushed out her ruby lips in a fake pout, "I've got me a job to do. You don't cause too much trouble, ya' hear LeBeau?"

"Trouble jus' follows me," Remy began to sharply deal the cards across the table, "I don' have nothing to do wit' it." Gabrielle rolled her eyes playfully and glided off across the floor, the blue and green lights of the room bouncing off her body as she moved. Remy watched her go with narrowed eyes. She was quite the lady.

"I know you didn't bring me here just to play cards, LeBeau," Alejandro pulled Remy's thoughts away from Gabrielle, "What's the real deal?"

"What?" Remy stuck his arms up in mock defence, "I can not jus' ask an old friend to come and have a drink wit' me?"

"It's never that simple with you, Cajun."

"You got me," Remy chuckled, "I need some information for a job I'm doing."

"What kind of job?" Alejandro asked.

"I'm stealin' somet'ing."

"No shit," was the deadpan reply, "What is it this time? Priceless jewels? Da Vinci painting?"

"I'll tell you 'dat when you can beat me, homme," Remy laughed, pulling the six hundred dollar pot towards his end of the table.

Author's Note:

Okay, so this is basically a prequel to a prequel. What is Remy doing before he gets taken to the island by Stryker and Creed? I don't own anything at all, save for my extensive collection of books and my dogs. Gabrielle and Alejandro are mine too, but that's about it. Please note, I am terrible at writing accents. If anyone wishes to help me, it would be greatly appreciated. Please review and constructive criticism is always welcome. Thanks very much. Hope you enjoyed this.


	2. Part 2

The Dead Man's Bluff

Part Two

As was always the case, Friday night turned into Saturday morning before Remy returned home, almost two thousand dollars richer than he had been only hours earlier. As he fished through his pocket for his keys, Remy no longer looked the suave charmer that had left the house in the evening. His shirt was untucked and his hat was askew over his dishevelled hair. Still, there was a strange air of handsomeness that constantly radiated off the man. Yawning, Remy pulled out his keys and swung open the door of his flat, revealing the meticulously tidy place he called home.

Stepping inside, Remy kicked off his black dress shoes, not caring where they landed for the time being. He shuffled over to the kitchen and switched on the coffee pot, which was always ready to brew. Remy was exhausted – he hadn't slept since Wednesday night – but there were more important things to do. He had to think. As he waited for the coffee, Remy grabbed a pack of cigarettes and a lighter from the kitchen counter. He lit one up over the sink and took a long, thoughtful puff. Tonight had been a very productive night. He had managed to make a fair deal of money, drink to slight intoxication, receive a few provocative kisses from Gabrielle before his departure, and most importantly, he now had Alejandro as a business partner.

Remy was smart, but his latest job was not something he could do on his own. Alejandro had not even been close to the mark when he had asked about precious jewels and priceless works of art. Those were easy jobs; jobs that wouldn't get you killed. And while this new job was going to pay much better than anything Remy had ever done before, in something much better than money, he was putting his neck much closer to the line than he ever had before.

New Orleans was riddled with crime and conflict, Remy knew that much. He also knew that majority of this crime was committed by the two guilds that ran the underworld of his beautiful city. There was the Assassin's Guild and the Thieves' Guild – one to which Remy belonged. His adoptive father, Jean-Luc was the leader of the thieves and was currently in failing health. Remy was positive that Jean-Luc wanted him to carry on the legacy of the guild; all that was needed was proof that he could. This is where Remy's latest mission originated from.

Lately, the guild wars had been particularly gruesome. The assassins had been becoming bolder, knowing that Jean-Luc was ailing. Remy was to steal, or rather kidnap, the daughter of the leader of the Assassin's Guild. This was exactly why he hadn't slept for over thirty-six hours. Not only was she constantly surrounded by men toting large guns, but Remy knew Bella Donna Bordeaux personally; they had met once when he was eight. She was fiery and temperamental, definitely not one to go down without a fight. Even if he were successful in staying alive long enough to kidnap her, she would not stand for such a thing to happen and would probably end up clawing him to death herself.

Remy butted out his cigarette in the sink and stared wistfully at the coffee. The black liquid was no replacement for sleep. Unhappily, he grabbed the pot and dumped it down the sink. He was less than twenty-four hours away from pulling off what could probably be considered the greatest kidnapping in American history. At least, that's what Alejandro had told him.

The Spanish man was a technology wizard. There was nothing he couldn't do with a computer. He was able to be anywhere at anytime and that was something that would be invaluable to Remy's survival. Alejandro, who had almost choked on his Corona when he heard what Remy was planning, had agreed to be his second pair of eyes and ears, insisting that he would probably need a third as well. Remy didn't think so. He had worked with Alejandro before and the two were a very good team.

Remy opened up a cabinet above the stove and fumbled around the numerous bottles. He had probably drunk a little too much to consume sleeping pills, but at the moment, he could care less. Without their help, Remy knew he wouldn't fall asleep yet again. He found his targeted bottle and snapped it open, spilling two white pills into his palm and swallowing them dry. With that, he stumbled off to bed, hoping that he would wake up the next morning.

_--*_

It was just after four in the morning when Gabrielle Allaire finally reached her apartment on the fifth floor of a complex just two blocks away from Bourbon Street. She didn't usually mind walking home so late, but tonight something had seemed odd. She had been unable to shake the feeling that someone had been watching her, though she convinced herself it was plainly imagination.

Still, when she reached her front door her apartment, Gabrielle hurried inside and locked the door behind her. She kicked off her boots and hung up her coat before heading straight into the bedroom. She was exhausted. Noticing the curtains were open, Gabrielle felt an uneasy feeling creep up from her stomach into her throat. She frowned, swallowing the feeling, and closed the curtains tightly.

Crawling into bed, Gabrielle gave a slight chuckle. Her paranoia was ridiculous, caused by nothing other than the fact that her emotions were running wild. She and Remy had kissed before, but nothing like tonight. Usually, he seemed so detached, but tonight was different. She could practically feel the electricity as their lips touched. It had to be this that was putting her so much on edge. Yes, that was the only explanation.

With a small smile on her face and the wailing of sirens in the background, Gabrielle fell asleep, wondering what sort of angel Remy LeBeau was.

_--*_

"Bossman," in an alleyway suddenly vacant of drunks and prostitutes, a fair-skinned, well-toned man spoke into a cellular phone, "I found her. She's kinda cute. Mind if I claim some vacation time and spend it here?"

"Shut –up Wade," came a muffled response from the phone, "If you can't do this job, I'll send Victor." The opposite end of the line went dead as Wade Wilson stared at the phone. "Killjoy," he muttered.

Wade felt like a beer. He wondered if anyplace was still open. Whistling to himself he stepped out of the shadows of the alley, looking back once more to make sure he had done himself justice.

"Yepp," he grinned, "Wade you sure are great." He continued walking, leaving three very bloody and once-drunk bodies in his wake. "Thank you, Wade. Thank you very much."

Author's Note:

Thank you to those who reviewed the last chapter. I do hope you will continue to read this and review. Also, thanks to anyone new who has begun to read this. I do hope you are enjoying it so far. Please let me know your comments and feedback. As always, constructive criticism is welcome. Thanks so much – Viviene.


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